Abramovich: no horses yet

Reports that Roman Abramovich is about to bring his billions into racing seem premature but the man who bought the Derby winner Kris Kin for the price of one of Hernan Crespo's big toes is ready and willing to help if the Chelsea supremo changes his mind.

A report in a Sunday newspaper suggested that Abramovich has taken the plunge by linking up with leading bloodstock agent Charlie Gordon-Watson to buy a colt named Le Tigre D'Or for £145,000 at the recent Deauville Sales.

Gordon-Watson, a Chelsea season ticket holder who bought his house largely because of its position just 300 yards from Stamford Bridge, today denied that Abramovich was the man behind the deal.

He said: "I knew that there was talk of him going to watch this weekend's Arc de Triomphe in Paris, but the horse bought at Deauville was for an existing client of mine and I've already checked to make sure that he hasn't done a deal without me knowing.

"That said, there's been a big crossover from football to racing in the last few years. I bought a couple of good winners for Sir Alex Ferguson when he first came into the sport, and in the last few years I've bought Kris Kin for 180 grand and the 2,000 Guineas winner King's Best for 220 grand."

Gordon-Watson regards Glen Johnson and Damien Duff as the two best signings of the Abramovich reign and is sitting on "a big double" combining Chelsea at 10-1 for the Premiership with Leeds at 5-1 to be relegated.

He added: "I really think Chelsea can win everything this year. I see they're down to 7-4 for the title now, while I had the double with Leeds purely because I thought that any club prepared to pay Jody Morris Premiership wages deserves to go down!

"Time will tell whether Mr Abramovich wants to add a few horses to his footballers, but I'm sure he'd enjoy it and if he does want to get involved then I'm the man to help him."

Meanwhile, events over the weekend have raised doubts as to whether two of the biggest stars in American racing will tackle the Breeders' Cup.

Corals cut Mineshaft to 5-4 favourite for the Breeders' Cup Classic after his win in Saturday's Jockey Club Cup at Belmont, but trainer Neil Howard reports that no decision has been made as to whether he will head for Santa Anita on October 25.

Azeri's prospects of a second Breeders' Cup success took a hefty knock when she finished only third at Santa Anita last night.